Pusha T Raps About Retirement Planning On New Song From A Financial Services Organization
Pusha T must be finished with rap-feud life. You can’t be actively beefing with A-list rap stars if you’re also making corporate-sponsored songs about the importance of retirement planning, and that’s what Pusha’s doing right now. TIAA, a giant financial services company, is the force behind the creation of “Paper Right,” a new Wyclef Jean/Pusha T posse cut that exists to advocate for money investments. The whole thing feels deeply scammy, but it exists, and Pusha is a part of it.
Wyclef Jean is the producer and lead artist behind “Paper Right,” a song built around encouraging Black workers to save for retirement. (According to TIAA, at least some of the song’s proceeds go to “First Generation Investors, a non-profit organization committed to teaching students how to invest.”) The track blurs lines between rap and afrobeats, and it features Pusha and Wyclef alongside ascendant New York rappers Lola Brooke and Capella Grey, as well as singer Flau’jae. The phrase “generational wealth” comes up a few times on the song, and Pusha talks about trying to leave money for his song to inherit: “When your name ring they start double-edge swordin’ him/ I don’t do much bargaining, so I keep a side hustle for the goals that I’m targetin’.”
Last night, the artists involved were all on The Tonight Show to perform “Paper Right.” They sat onstage at a table loaded down with fruit, graduation caps, and stacks of cash. I really hope people are getting paid for this song. It looks like a public service announcement, but it carries the whiff of faint desperation. Below, check out the song and the Tonight Show performance.